hello! i have an issue that's been driving me bonkers! i have been lucid dreaming for a while, but for some reason i haven't been able to control my dreams! after a long time of trying i give up. and in the morning i feel very discouraged, and think i should just take a break....does anyone have any suggestions?

So, you are lucid, but have zero control? Hmm, my only experience being lucid was a fleeting few seconds, and needless to say, I had no control, but attempting to calm myself. But, if I've learned anything in the waking world, its that persistence pays off. If you walk away saying you can't, you never will. I'd keep trying and trying, because that's who I am, I am resilient. The fact that you are lucid at all is an accomplishment! Like mentioned, I've only had a few blurry moments in which I realized I was dreaming, so not all people are even as far as you! Have you tried "Exploring the world of lucid dreaming?" Its an excellent book, and I believe there is a section on there about control. I also think you must BELIEVE to Achieve, especially in this game. Sorry I typed so much. Kinda depressed and been given some meds, I just dislocated my shoulder for the 2nd time, and feeling pretty bad.

I am an Engineering student, and have yet to experience a lucid dream. Currently on break, I am hoping to try and master the technique as it will give me some peace during the busy school year. Any advice or links are appreciated. Feel free to pm me.

Well, I started trying to lucid dream on may 2, since then i've only had 1 really lucid dream. in that dream, i saw something on the floor thet said "lucid" so I asked myself if it was a dream, an did a RC, but i woke up, so as a habit, I looked at my hands and my right one had 5 fingers, the other one had 10! (haha i know that's funny) so i got very excited and the first thing i tried to do was to make something levitate, i couldn't... the dream scene was at night in my bedroom, and i wasn't even able to get up from my bed. so i tried falling backwards: false awakening, spining: false awakening, etc. In other dream, I was attempting WILD IN the dream, and didn't think of doing RCs, so never became lucid, in other dream i knew it was a dream, but i had the silly concept that i was a subconscious proyection in a dream my best frien was having.You know, that things that limited my lucidity may have been discouraging, but instead, i took them for progress in my lucid dreaming intention, i think that's what you have to do, last night, i had 3 differen dreams, all about lucidity, and i didn't become lucid, in any of them. So keep trying. You know what they say, "it's all about practice" Also, something that i read said that it's very difficult to change things in front of your eyes, so you have to imagine that what you want is (happening) behind you, or in your pocket, and convince yourself of that.Sorry if i have mistakes, but english is not my mother language. Keep trying, i know that someday soon, we'll be able to control them as we want .

Can I ask what you are trying to control in your lucid dreams?? Maybe if you can some how clarify with some experiences you will get a more help in your next adventures.

I was having some difficulty directing my dreams not to long ago and then it got to the point that I wasn't even having them for a few weeks. I had to let go of trying to gain consciousness in order for it to come to me. Sometimes we focus on things when they aren't happening and then thats where we direct our intention too, which in turn creates our dreams/reality.

Also main things that help me with using my lucid dreams fully are thinking about what it is that I want to accomplish the night before and diligently writing down my dreams everyday.

but anyways, i do think of an intention every night in order to help me fall asleep in general. but when i become lucid, (which i do pretty much every night but the majority only last for a few seconds.) i think of those intentions, and do my normal get ready stuff to keep my focus. for example, i was trying to get an outfit to appear in front of my eyes for a dance i planned as an intention. but i couldn't get it to appear. so i went around asking people for an outfit i ordered. (when ever i have a lucid dream, i pretend to know everybody, and sort of make rules, that follow to normally.) but they said they never got the outfit. but other times, when im in a dream, i think " i hope this room is haunted" and it becomes haunted. as if my brain is purposely trying to do something.some things i have been trying to do are.get a certain person to meet me..get to a certain place.getting things to appear when needed. (also when i close my eyes or look behind me it doesn't work.)confusing huh?if you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know!

Hi Livie! I totally get your frustration... Dream control isn't always as automatic as we'd like. In this case I think it depends on two main things:

1) How much consciousness you have in the dream - eg you can often turn your lucidity up a notch but forget to do so, or forget to maintain high lucidity as each minute goes by (sometimes lucidity can fade halfway through a dream without you realizing). So keep activating your conscious brain by rubbing your hands / checking your palms and remind yourself you are dreaming and nothing you see is real. I find it helps to feel around my environment and view it with full intensity to fully ground my awareness in the moment.

2) The nature of what you're trying to achieve - for me perhaps the most difficult thing in a lucid dreaming is FINDING SOMETHING (or someone) as my subconscious loves to play tricks on me! I think it's always better to explore the dream and let things appear organically (eg either let things come to you in their own time, or try flying to the town where there's a dress shop and the outfit would naturally exist). As opposed to artificially summoning an object to materialize in front of your eyes.... which can work for some people but I find it much easier and less frustrating to work WITH my dream logic in these cases. Otherwise as you discovered you can end up in a very fruitless chase!

Keep those in mind and I'm sure you'll have a lucid dream that blows you away with the level of control you have. They do come out of nowhere sometimes and it's really exciting when they do!

Hey man I agree with Rebbeca, just let the dream build it self, but I also think, when you want the dream to build it self, you are "asking" it to do so, which is kinda like dream control, I only controlled my dream once until now, and that was because the dream was going black, so I started building a landscape, and it worked!So good luck with your lucid world man, and never give up!

My first LD was I think when I was a child, about 11 years old, i was in a strange mountain, full of small black rocks, I knew that it was a dream, so i rolled over and over to the end of it .

thanks for everybody's advice! just last night i had a lucid dream, (probably caused by not waking up as early as usual) and i followed all the steps you guys suggested. AND IT TOTALLY WORKED! when i first realized i was lucid, i took a moment to look at my surroundings. i then rubbed my hands and said clarity now. and i tried to become more fully lucid by doing equations and thinking this trough. i then went to a a store in which i saw a claw machine. with ought even paying, i was able to get exactly the thing i wanted, plus everything else. also i got some people to serve me! i think this was by far the most lucidity in a dream i had!